


Autumn Rains

by ghost_of_stardust



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: AU, M/M, takumi is a nine tailed fox, that's all the characters for now
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-02
Updated: 2018-12-23
Packaged: 2019-04-17 11:10:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,805
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14187618
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ghost_of_stardust/pseuds/ghost_of_stardust
Summary: During a heavy autumn rain, Leo finds a silver fox with nine tails under a tree.--Leokumi, AU where takumi is a kumiho/nine tailed fox. get it, cuz taKumiho... ha ha.





	1. Prologue

A chilly breeze brushed across the land, gently waving the fire-colored leaves on the trees, as well as the long black hair of the figure seated in the forest’s clearing. Her presence in the forest brought a serene quiet, and the various wildlife of the forest all seemed to be drawn to her. She had all the qualities of a usual human, but the ethereal glow she had about her hinted at something else. 

Within her arms, the woman held a small fox. The animal’s breathing was shallow, and it was clear that it didn't have much time. The woman gently ran her hand across his silver fur. 

“You poor creature.” The wind carried her soft voice through the clearing, the only sound besides the gentle rustling of the leaves to break the silence. “You've lived quite a while, haven't you?” She asked, though the fox had no way to reply. “One thousand years… much longer than so many other foxes. Perhaps you are meant for something else in this world…” The woman paused her words before giving the fox a gentle pat on the head. “Rest now, dear Takumi. And when you awake, you will be different… Blessed by the goddess, Mikoto.” She closed her eyes and smiled as she spoke her own name, ensuring that the blessing was in place. Carefully, she stood up, and set the fox under the leaves of a low hanging tree branch, to sleep with protection from the oncoming autumn rains.

The fox stared up at her with the last of the life in his eyes, and she gave him one final smile as the once soft glow about her grew brighter, before she faded away altogether. The fox closed his eyes, resting as the goddess had instructed him. He wasn't sure what she meant by “when he awakes, he’ll be different”- after all, it had been a thousand years of his life, and that was beyond what a fox should live. Shouldn’t he just depart by now? Maybe he just imagined the whole thing. And besides, who was Takumi?

His thoughts were interrupted by the first drops of rain hitting the leaves above him, and he let out a breath similar to a human sigh, curling himself up into his tail as well as he could. He’d worry about it more when he awoke.


	2. under the tree

The first thing he noticed was the cold.

The fox’s ears twitched as he awoke, and he listened to the sound of the rain pelting the large leaves of the yellowed tree above his head. This was the same tree that woman had left him under so long ago. His beady eyes stared out into the scene before him, his tails swishing gently. Tails, plural? Last he remembered, there was only one. He glanced back, noticing that there were, indeed, more tails. He sighed and looked back forward, deciding it must just be confusion from sleeping forso long. How long had it been? He had no way of knowing, and therefore returned his attention to the rain rather than his thoughts.

Even after a thousand years of life, the downpours of rain and the wondrous color change in the leaves in autumn always delighted the creature. At least on a visual level, he thought with a shiver, pulling his tails close around his body. The cold was something he could do without. Still feeling tired even after sleeping for who knows how long, the fox closed his eyes, the warmth of the tails and the sound of the rainfall sending him into sleep.

“A fox?” He heard someone say, causing his eyes to snap open. In front of him was a child, who gazed at him with curiosity shining in his bright brown eyes. The child reached out to the fox, and the creature instinctively flinched back. The child pulled his hand back slowly in an attempt not to scare him. Deciding that this behavior made the human more trustworthy, the fox leaned forward, nose twitching as he inspected the child’s hand, then sneezed as a sudden drop of rain hit his nose. He heard the kid giggle as he brushed the water off the fox’s face. “You’re cute!” The child said. “I bet you’re hungry,” he continued, pulling something out of his pocket. He held it out to the fox, who sniffed it curiously before eagerly eating it. Berries, he concluded. That was one of his favorite foods. The child smiled and he swear he felt himself smile too. What a kind human this was.

“Leo?” They heard, causing them both to freeze. “Leo, what are you doing?”

Grinning as he recognized the voice, the child named Leo turned around. “Xander, come look!”

In response to the first child’s call, a taller boy came over, whom the fox assumed to be Xander. “What is it, Leo?” Xander asked, a clear agitation in his voice, which the fox guessed was a result of being out in the heavy rain.

“A fox,” Leo replied. “Isn’t he cute? He likes me! Can I take him?”

Xander looked down at the creature, inspecting him closely. “He’s silver,” Xander murmured, “And he has multiple tails. Isn’t that unusual?” So the extra tails weren’t just a dream, the fox thought. 

Leo rolled his eyes, turning back to face the animal. “I don’t care. Can I? Please?” Without waiting for an answer, he reached his arms out to grab the fox who, despite a bit of fear, snuggled into him. It was far too cold for him to protest, especially since this was the only human who had cared for him during his life. 

Xander sighed. “I don’t think father would be happy if we kept him. Put him back, Leo.” 

“I can hide him somewhere so father won't have to know,” Leo whined, pulling his raincoat over the fox. “And I’ll give him food so you don't have to!” His elder brother merely shook his head. 

“No, Leo. We already have cats to worry about.” 

Xander’s response made Leo pout. “That’s not fair. They’re all your pets. And they’re nowhere near as pretty as this fox.” He looked back at the animal in his arms, softly petting his silver fur. The fox closed his eyes, the gentleness reminding him of the woman from before.

Xander’s eyes narrowed. “Put him down, Leo. We don’t know if he’s dangerous. And he probably lives here. You don’t want to take him from his home.” Leo grumbled, reluctantly setting the fox back down under the tree. “Good,” Xander said, grabbing Leo by the arm. “You really need to stop messing with everything you see in forests. Now don’t whine, we’re going home.” He took Leo back to the path they had come on, and continued the walk to their home. Leo looked back at the fox for as long as he could, brown eyes meeting bright orange.

The fox watched Leo and Xander depart until he could no longer see them. He curled himself up again, a sadness coming over him. What a mean human, he thought, taking the first kind person away from me. Closing his eyes, he tried to distract himself with the sound of the falling rain, which eventually sent him back into sleep.


	3. the search

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uuu i am sorry i took so long to update! busy busy life.

The fox stretched and yawned, waking up from a short nap. Thinking back on the last few days, he estimated that about a week had passed. He hadn't been asleep the whole time, no, not that that wouldn't have been pleasant. He spent most of the days wandering, finding food and perhaps a better shelter… no, who was he kidding. The past seven days, he'd been doing his best to follow the two humans he had met before. The forest was awfully empty and lonely, and Leo, he thought, was too kind to not search for. 

The near constant rain of the autumn had been interfering with the search. It had washed away any trace of the boy’s scent that he might have found, making footprints the only thing he had to go off of. But footprints, of course, weren’t very reliable on a forest floor covered by plant life and fallen leaves, especially if they were a week old.

The frustrated fox batted at a leaf, utterly lost. He watched the yellow leaf flick to the side, quickly being picked up by the wind and whipped out of sight. At that moment, the cold finally set in and the fox shivered. He had been too swept up in his search to realize just how cold he was, with the strong winds and his fur soaked by the rain. In an attempt to shake off the anger from his current situation, the fox took off in a run, completely disregarding any semblance of a path he’d been following, not that it had been that helpful anyways. 

Time passed, and eventually the fox no longer felt we leaves under his paws, but instead the hard gravel of what he assumed to be a human-made path. Slowing down, he glanced around, taking note of the surroundings. There were less leaves on the ground here, but instead yellowing grass could be seen on each side of the rocky path. The rain had slowed, but still provided a sort of gloomy atmosphere. Settled among the grass in the distance was a collection of large structures, which instantly interested the fox. He shifted onto the grass to avoid hurting his paws, and used what energy he had left for the day to wander towards the place.

As he got closer, the fox realized the structures were houses, the dens of humans. He instantly perked up, thinking that maybe Leo was inside one of them. He excitedly ran around the little town, peering into every house he could. He was noticed by a few children, of course, but none of them had the same short blond hair and warm, curious brown eyes that he was looking for. 

Feeling disappointed, the fox walked slowly along the dirt road of the town near the vendors’ stalls. He was exhausted and hungry and cold, and all he wanted was to find somewhere to rest. He could go back to the forest, he thought, but decided it was too wet for his liking, and the other animals had been eating all the food before he could find it anyways. 

Curling up under the overhang of a nearby stall to hide from the rain, the fox closed his eyes and mentally cursed the woman who had made him still live. I can’t be that special, he thought. So what if I’ve lived a thousand years. What was the point of continuing, he asked himself, when the one thing he thought would make him happy just vanished shortly after coming into his life in the first place.

Suddenly, the little fox sneezed, remembering the cold. He wrapped his tails around himself, hoping to keep in some of the warmth, and sighed. He’d just sleep again, he supposed.

His plans changed when he took note of a soft noise in front of him. A laugh, perhaps? Or closer to a giggle. He cracked his eyes open, peering at the human who was kneeling in front of him. He studied the child’s face sleepily. A wide grin, wet blond hair, and warm, brown eyes… 

He jumped up, his tails swishing happily. It was Leo! So he was right, and the child lived in this town. Leo reached out and petted the fox, not minding his soaked fur.

“You followed me, huh?” he asked, picking up the fox. “Man, you’re so cold. Have you been looking for me this whole week?” The fox yipped softly in reply, which amused Leo, and he giggled. “Cute.” He looked around, his eyes wide. Looking back to the fox, he leaned closer and spoke quietly. “I know Xander said not to take you home, but who cares. He’s a meanie anyways,” Leo smirked. Pulling his raincoat off his arms to wrap around himself and the fox, he turned down the path, heading out of the town. 

The fox watched curiously as they went farther from the little houses, and Leo instead brought them to an incredibly large house. ‘Could this be his den? Is this why I couldn’t find him?’ He swished a tail as he thought. He heard Leo giggle above him and twitched an ear happily. 

Leo eventually got to the door and reached a hand out to the handle, but hesitated. He put that arm back around the fox and walked the perimeter of the house, coming across a second door. “Father’s probably in the front,” he said to the fox, “so I’m going through the kitchen. He’s never in there anyways.” Leo opened the door and slipped in to the kitchen, grabbing a small package from a cabinet and quickly heading up the stairs before he was noticed by anyone. 

The two of them reached a door near to the end of the hall at the top of the staircase. Leo opened this door, quickly stepping inside the room and shutting the door behind him. He walked across the room, setting the fox on something… very soft. 

“This is my bed,” Leo said, wrapping the fox in a soft cloth. “And this is a blanket. They’ll help you be warmer.” He patted the fox on the head, and the fox cuddled into the warm blanket. He watched as Leo opened the package that he grabbed from the kitchen and set it in front of him, and he sniffed it curiously. “Go on,” Leo said. “It’s Xander’s cat food, but maybe you'll like it too.”

The fox took a test bite of the food and instantly decided he liked it enough to eat, made clear by the way he devoured the contents. 

“Gods, you must be so hungry,” Leo said softly. “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of you. I’m sure no one will notice.” He petted the fox, who closed his eyes. Leo, apparently tired, soon fell asleep next to him, and he watched the child’s even breathing happily. 

If he could stay with Leo, perhaps still being alive wasn't so bad.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's kind of short maybe but i wanted to get SOMETHING out

When the fox next woke up, he was curled up in Leo’s lap. Momentarily a little confused, he glanced around and blinked before remembering where he was. He yawned and stretched his paws, feeling quite rested, a pleasant change from his previous nap. He stood up, considering going to walk around the room a bit, but he decided that his spot was too comfortable, and sat back down. 

His ear twitched when he heard a sound behind him, and he turned around to see Leo, looking down at him with a smile on his face. “I didn't know you were awake,” the boy said, setting down the book that was in his hand. He reached out and petted the fox’s fur. 

He yipped in response, his voice cracking a little due to just having woken up. Leo’s grin grew wider.

“You're so cute!!” He kicked his legs a little as he exclaimed, picking up the fox and holding him in a sort of hug. The fox’s silver tails swished happily.

The short moment was soon interrupted by a knock on Leo’s door, followed by a voice that startled him.

“Leo?” The voice called, and it sounded familiar to the fox.

‘It must be Xander,’ he thought, and narrowed his eyes. 

“Leo, are you awake?” The voice said again. Leo set the fox back on the bed, an unpleasant expression on his face.

“Ugh, yeah I am.” Leo got off the bed, opening the door and peeking out in a way that obscured the view into his room as much as he could. He didn’t want his brother to see the fox. “What do you want, Xander?” 

Xander continued his speaking, seemingly unfazed by Leo’s displeasure. “Father wants to talk to us about something.” Leo moved to close the door, already uninterested, but Xander held it open. “I know you hate it. But we don’t want him angry.” 

The mention of their father becoming angry seemed to make Leo hesitate, and the fox wondered why. Was their father particularly awful when upset? Perhaps Leo had been hurt. That thought made the fox growl slightly, though he silenced when he noticed Xander hear him and attempt to look into the room. He curled into the blankets, hoping not to be seen. 

“Fine,” Leo said with a sigh. He glanced back into his room, giving the fox a soft smile, as if to say ‘I’ll be back soon.’ He then pushed past Xander out of the door, closing behind him quickly. The fox listened to their voices head down the hall for as long as he could, hearing Xander question Leo about what he was doing and Leo’s huff in response. He sighed when they were finally out of range of his hearing. He missed Leo already, but his curiosity occupied his thoughts and he took the chance to hop off the bed and get a clearer view of the room he was in. 

Leo’s room was fairly simply decorated, a desk against the wall next to his bed with many books strewn about the surface of it. A tall shelf stood next to the desk, and the fox assumed that the books had come from there due to the sheer number of other books upon it. Over his years, he had learned that books were for something called reading, and he wondered what Leo liked to read about. Stories of past humans, tales of made-up, magical worlds- those were things humans liked, right? Or perhaps, he thought, Leo preferred to study the world around him. Maybe he read about the trees in the forest where they met, or maybe he read about animals. Like foxes. 

The thought of Leo’s attention on another fox made the silver creature feel a little jealous. Strange, maybe, that he felt that over a human. ‘Well,’ the fox thought with a huff and a graceful flick of a tail. ‘He’s MY human.’

The fox’s moment of self-pride was cut short by a startling noise from beneath him. He hopped onto the bed in fear, listening closely to the sounds. The vague voice of an angry man reached him- it was an unfamiliar voice. Their father, maybe? He picked up a trace of Xander’s voice, he thought, then Leo’s. That one was definitely Leo. But the boy’s words were interrupted by the man again, and he sounded louder. Perhaps he was mad, as Xander feared. The man’s shouting went on for a while longer before it was quiet again, and the fox felt worried. Was Leo okay? 

Carefully hopping off the bed again, he padded over to to the door, silently waiting for Leo’s return.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i actually don't know exactly where i'm going with this, so bear with me... i'll figure it out some day.


	6. names

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leo decides what to call the fox.

Leo was gone for what felt like hours. The fox paced around the door, every so often stopping to listen in hopes of hearing the soft footprints coming back up the stairs, but the voices continued for longer than he would have liked. He grew increasingly anxious. Should he go downstairs? No, he couldn’t even open the door. Growing tired of the pacing, he hopped back upon Leo’s bed, resting his head on the edge of the mattress. He would be patient until the boy came back.

Leo returned a while later, quietly shutting the door behind him and staring at the floor. The fox could tell- this human was upset. He hopped up, circling around his spot on the bed, inviting Leo to sit-

The blond boy instead sunk to the floor with his back against the door. “Father really was angry,” he said softly. He sniffled, looking up at the creature on his bed. “I guess he caught me practicing magic again. He hates that… wants me to use a sword instead. But I don’t… I don’t want to. Swords are boring,” he huffed. He got onto his knees and shuffled over to the bed, shoving his face into the mattress. “Besides,” He said, his voice muffled. “Xander uses the sword. I don’t wanna be like him.”

The fox stepped closer to Leo, curiously tilting his head. What is a sword, and what is magic, he wished he could ask. Unable to speak, he instead let out a soft yip and sat down by him. Leo looked up at him, eyes watery, and reached his hand out to pet him. The fox’s eyes closed calmly, and Leo sighed.

“You probably don’t get what I’m saying. You probably don’t get anything… man, I really just took you from your home, huh?” He frowned and looked down at the grey sheet upon his mattress. “Maybe Xander was right. Do you wanna go back? You belong in the forest, right?”

The fox’s eyes widened, and he did his best to shake his head. That’s what humans do to say ‘no’, right? His question was answered when Leo’s face showed understanding. He wagged a tail happily as the boy spoke. 

“Okay, I guess you should stay here with me then, huh?” He smiled slightly and sniffled, looking back at the fox. “I guess I should think of a name for you, right?” he asked, not exactly expecting a response. His gaze shifted to his shelf of books, and he thought for a moment before his eyes snapped back to the fox. “Kumiho!” He exclaimed. 

The fox was taken aback as the boy jumped up from his spot. “You’re a kumiho,” Leo said again. “I read about them in a book- in hoshidan stories, there’s a nine-tailed fox called the kumiho,” he explained. “Maybe that’s what you are? Then…” He twirled a little bit of his hair, something the fox found rather cute. His orange eyes watched as the boy thought and muttered to himself. 

“Kumiho, kumi, ho? Ku…. kumi. Hm…. Kumi? No, too predictable. Umm…” Leo shut his eyes, tugging on the strand of hair as if it helped him think. The fox sat, eagerly awaiting the decision- he’d never received a name. 

Leo’s mumbling continued, and his eyes opened, looking from the fox to his books. Suddenly, he let go of the strand of hair. “I got it! Takumi! That feels perfect!” 

The fox’s tails all swished when he heard this. Takumi- what a great name. And it felt… so familiar. He wondered why, but didn’t get much time to dwell on it as Leo sat down beside him, his previous bad mood apparently gone or at least covered up. Leo began to pet the fox again, and Takumi laid down, pleased.

“Great,” Leo said. “Leo and Takumi, the human and the fox- we’ll be best friends from now on! No matter what Xander or my father say!”

Takumi couldn’t have felt happier.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im sorry, its been so long and i only have such a short chapter--  
> also, made an update to the prologue. hehehe...


End file.
